British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their bravery," he added. "Including them were numerous UK service members on duty over the festive period. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
